Staff Notebook
which individual, he said.
Safire, who likes both Israeli Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon and former Prime Minister
Binyamin Netanyahu, reminded the crowd of 600
that when Netanyahu was prime minister, every-
one thought that Sharon was more "right wing."
But now the roles are reversed, he said.
"Democracy in action."
— Harry Kirsbaum
Luckerman Wins Award
jr
ewish News Staff Writer Sharon Luckerman
earned a second-place award in the Inland
Press Association's 2002 Local News category
for her story, "The Power Of E-Mail," which ran
Sept. 21, 2001.
The story told of a widely circulated e-mail alleging
that employees of the Sheik restaurant in West
Bloomfield cheered while watching the Sept. 11 terror-
ist attacks on television. The owner of the
Sheik denied the allegations.
The Inland judges said Luckerman's
story provided "deeper insights concern-
ing the delicate nature of Jewish-Arab
relations in the United States in a new
era of intolerance and bigotry."
Her story competed among entries
from newspapers with circulations
Sharon
between 10,000 and 25,000. The awards
Luckerman
were presented Oct. 28 in Chicago.
. — Keri Guten Cohen
Zack Wins Commission Seat
s a social worker, Helaine Zack of Huntington
Woods spends her days making a difference in
A the lives of individuals and families.
Beginning in January, she'll be able to make a dif-
ference for everyone in Oakland County as the 22nd
District county commissioner.
"Our mental health and substance abuse legislation
is a mess," said Zack, a Democrat who won a deci-
sive 84-16 percent victory over Republican opponent
Eurick Crayton Jr. in the Nov. 5 election.
"I look forward to working with oth-
ers to re-do the system, or to make the
current system work better," Zack said
Responsible spending also ranks high
on her list of priorities. "I intend to get
in there running to work on the 2004
budget," she said.
Zack's district includes Huntington
Woods,
Pleasant Ridge, Royal Oak
7,4
Township, Oak Park and four southern
Helaine
precincts of Southfield.
Zack
— Diana Lieberman
Lubavitch Women's Organization's animated dolls.
Tobocman Coasts To Victory
Weekday Shabbat Spirit
teve Tobocman, 32, didn't campaign much
in his Nov. 5 run for Michigan state repre-
sentative from Detroit's 12th District. At
least not after the Aug. 6 Democratic primary,
when he edged out incumbent Rep. Belda Garza
by a margin of less than 200 votes.
"It was pretty
much a done deal
after the pri-
mary," said
Tobocman, who
took 90 percent
of the vote in the
traditionally
Democratic dis-
trict versus 10
percent for his
Republican chal-
lenger, Chester
Calka.
"I campaigned
in the sense that
I went to com-
munity meetings
Steve Tobocman
and stayed
involved in vari-
ous community
groups," Tobocman said. "On Election Day, we
were at the polls."
Tobocman comes from the nonprofit sector.
He's executive director and co-founder of
Community Legal Resources in Detroit. He
recently took his seat in Lansing for a leadership
vote, and calls the House surroundings "quite a
work environment."
— Harry Kirsbaum
T
o mark their first birthday, the animated
dolls that have been the focus of the Shabbat
candle-lighting display in the lobby of the
Jewish Community Center in West Bloomfield since
last December have taken on an additional "job" on
their days off.
"They are available for rent for birthday parties,
bar and bat mitzvahs and synagogue and other
events," says Miriam Amzalak, who coordinates the
display through the Lubavitch Women's Organiza-
tion (LWO) of Metro Detroit, where she is presi-
dent. "They look like real people and inspire the
feeling of Shabbat."
The soft, fabric-covered dolls, whose arms raise and
lower to cover their eyes, are available for rent at a fee
of $75, plus a refundable security deposit. Rental cost
includes delivery, set up and pick up.
The two dolls are part of a display manned by
LWO volunteers. They answer questions and distrib-
ute complimentary Shabbat candlesticks, candles
and information, including the candle-lighting bless-
ing and times for lighting candles.
The mother-daughter dolls work at the JCC once a
month on varying days, with their next "workday"
Monday, Nov. 18, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. They are
available for rent from Sunday through Friday after-
noons.
But because their hands wave through the use of
electricity, they are not available on Friday nights or
Saturdays. "On Shabbat they rest," Amzalak says.
To rent the dolls, contact Amzalak, (248) 967-
5056 or amzalak@juno.com
— Shelli Leibman Dorfman
Equal Bias To Vandalism
s terling Heights police reported two vandalism Safire Speaks In Ypsilanti
incidents Nov. 8.
In the first incident, a Star of David was
painted on the windshield and "Jew" was sprayed on
the side of a Detroit Bagel Factory truck near the
company store at 15 Mile and Dequindre. The inci-
dent happened overnight Nov. 7-8. By the time
police investigated the report, a company employee
had cleaned off the paint.
Earlier that night, police said a building near 16 Mile
and Dequindre had "F... Arabs" sprayed on a wall.
Police Lt. Michael Resse believes the incidents
were isolated pranks done by a juvenile. "We don't
have anything like this regularly," he said.
— Alan Hitsky
11/15
2002
14
N
ew York Times conservative political
columnist William Safire stuck to the
Bush administration line in a Nov. 11
speech at the Jewish Federation of
Washtenaw County's "Main Event"
campaign fund-raiser in Ypsilanti.
Safire talked tough on the war
on terrorism and the Iraq situa-
tion, and called the relationship
between Israel and the United
States "extraordinarily strong."
The choice for Israelis in the
William
next election is not between which
Safire
party — Likud should win — but
S
Corrections
• The Nov. 19-24 performances of Rick
Miller's MacHomer, featured in the story
"Shakespeare With A `Simpsons' Twist" on
page 70 of this issue, were canceled at
Detroit's Music Hall Center after the JN
Arts & Entertainment section went to press.
• In "The Goldberg Clan Cooks" (Nov. 1,
page 112), the following facts are corrected:
Arlene Goldberg worked at Jewish Family
Service. The family cookbook was suggested
by a niece. The cousin was Kenny Sahn, not
Goldberg.